A four-star general who headed US Africa Command has been demoted amid charges he spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on pricey travel, Pentagon officials said.
Defence Secretary Leon Panetta demoted General William “Kip” Ward, who was asked to reimburse US$82,000 for having inappropriately used Pentagon travel funds, a senior defence official said.
The four-star general “will retire at the rank of lieutenant general”, a three-star post, a second senior defence official said on Tuesday.
The travel mishaps included bringing Ward’s wife on extended business trips, according to a Defence Department Inspector General’s report released in June.
One in Bermuda involved a suite for US$747 a night at the Fairmont Hamilton Princess. And his wife also allegedly made unauthorised use of armoured vehicles.
Ward, the first Africa Command commander from 2007-last year based in Stuttgart, denied the allegations. He currently serves as a special assistant to the US Army’s vice-chief of staff.